Louisiana-shot 'Looper' and 'On the Road' help get 2012 Toronto Film Festival started

The 11-day Toronto International Film Festival opened Thursday night (Sept. 6), with more than a little help from two locally linked, and eagerly anticipated, films. First, director Walter Salles' adaptation of the Beat generation tome "On the Road" -- short partly in Louisiana -- made its North American debut at the festival. Aside from the attendance of Kristen Stewart on the red carpet, however, it was largely overshadowed by the world premiere of "Looper," director Rian Johnson's New Orleans-shot sci-fi thriller.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, left, Bruce Willis and director Rian Johnson attend the press conference for the New Orleans-shot 'Looper' at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival.

Tapped to be the festival's official opening-night film, "Looper" is a movie the film community has been eagerly awaiting since it wrapped last year, first because Johnson -- with only two previous films under his belt ("Brick" and "The Brothers Bloom") -- has already built a name for himself as a sharp, smart filmmaker. Also, though, there's that cool, head-spinning premise, in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a hitman who, thanks to the magic of time travel, is assigned to kill a future version of himself. It opens Sept. 28.

Unsurpisingly, "Looper" was warmly met by critics, currently holding a 100 percent approval rating on movie-review aggregator RottenTomatoes.com, based on 18 reviews submitted as of mid-morning today. Here's a more detailed sampling of what critics are saying, followed by additional headlines from the festival's big opening night.

Variety: ("Johnson's) grandly conceived, impressively mounted third feature shows a giddy, geeky interest in science-fiction, then forces it into the back seat and lets the multidimensional characters drive."

Hollywood Reporter: "Rian Johnson's third and most ambitious feature keeps the action popping while sustaining interest in the long arc of a story about a man assigned to kill the 30-years-older version of himself."

ComingSoon.net: " 'Looper' feels like the type of movie that can only get better with repeat viewings ..., but even with our single solitary viewing, it's obvious he's successfully pulled off a hugely ambitious and mind-blowing sci-fi twist on the gangster flick that's likely to make it one of the coolest movies of the year."

And some other headlines from the festival's opening night:

'On the Road' actors Kirsten Dunst, left, Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart attend the film's North American premiere at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival on Thursday. 'On the Road was shot partly in Louisiana.

Los Angeles Times: On opening night, "Looper" shows a way forward. Although Johnson's film was short largely in New Orleans, it also spent time in Shanghai and is technically a U.S.-China co-production. According to festival artistic director Cameron Bailey, that should be considered the start of a growing trend. "Tonight we invite you to step into the future," Bailey said. "It's the first time we've opened the festival not only with a science-fiction film but with a U.S.-China co-production. It's not that common yet. ... But this is the future of filmmaking."